Thunder Escape Bobcats After Losing Westbrook

Kevin Durant had 34 points and 12 rebounds, and the Oklahoma City Thunder held on to defeat the host Charlotte Bobcats, 89-85, on Friday night without the injured guard Russell Westbrook.

The Thunder announced before the game that Westbrook had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee and would be out until after the All-Star break.

Durant scored 14 points in the fourth quarter and finished 14 of 28 from the field. Serge Ibaka had 12 points and 9 rebounds for the Thunder, who have won seven straight road games and 11 of 12 over all.

Reggie Jackson started in place of Westbrook but shot only 4 of 19 from the field.

The Thunder managed to escape after Josh McRoberts missed a wide-open 3-point shot with three seconds left.

Durant is expected to take on an even bigger scoring load with Westbrook out at least 27 games. The surprising news came just two days after Westbrook had a triple-double against the Knicks.

General Manager Sam Presti said in a news release that Westbrook had been playing without pain but “recently had experienced increased swelling” in his right knee.

Westbrook’s knee problems began in April when he tore his meniscus in the second game of the Western Conference playoffs, sidelining him for the remainder of the postseason and diminishing Oklahoma City’s chances of reaching the N.B.A. finals. He had a second arthroscopic surgery before training camp.

Oklahoma City is 21-3 with Westbrook in the starting lineup.

“He was playing great basketball, probably some of the best basketball in the entire league,” Thunder Coach Scott Brooks said.

“We’re looking forward to him coming back and getting back to the level that he has played at — and he will.”

Ricky Rubio had 11 points, 9 assists and 8 rebounds in 26 minutes, and Nikola Pekovic added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Timberwolves. Minnesota outrebounded Washington, 44-35, and turned the ball over only five times.

John Wall had 26 points and 7 assists for the Wizards, who missed a chance to win their fourth straight road game for the first time since March 2008. Nene added 13 points and 5 rebounds, but Bradley Beal had to be helped off the floor in the fourth quarter with a left leg injury.

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Jrue Holiday had 17 points and 4 steals, causing two turnovers that led to late fast-break points as the Pelicans halted the Nuggets’ comeback bid.

Anthony Davis added 17 points and 4 blocked shots despite playing sparingly in the first half because of three early fouls.

Wilson Chandler scored 22 points and J. J. Hickson added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets, who trailed by 18 in the second quarter but were as close as 93-87 on Quincy Miller’s 3-point shot with 2 minutes 55 seconds to go.

That is when Holiday found Davis for an alley-oop tip and again for a fast-break basket as New Orleans pulled away for its second straight win.

MAGIC 109, PISTONS 92 Arron Afflalo scored 23 points to lead five Orlando players in double figures, and the Magic snapped a three-game losing streak with a win over visiting Detroit.

In some of their recent losses, Orlando had started fast only to fall apart late.

The Magic jumped out to another early lead, but this time they were able to sustain it with a variety of scoring bursts that kept the Pistons playing catch-up most of the night.

A version of this article appears in print on December 28, 2013, on Page D6 of the New York edition with the headline: Thunder Escape Bobcats After Losing Westbrook. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe